It is customary to spray paint automobiles and other mass produced articles in a spray booth having the physical characteristics of an elongated corridor or chamber through which the automobiles are longitudinally conveyed and within which human and/or mechanical operators actuate paint spraying equipment. It is essential in the operation of a paint spray booth to maintain a proper supply of fresh air and to remove paint overspray by means of an air exhaust system.
Paint overspray is conventionally removed from the booth by drawing the air from the booth downwardly through hollow outlet structures which are disposed centrally of a subfloor within the booth at longitudinally spaced intervals. Depending on its angularity, the subfloor is either flooded or wetted with water. The water flows into and through the outlet structures to mix with the overspray-laden air passing downwardly therethrough and assists in the transfer of the overspray from the air to the water so that the air leaving the lower ends of the outlet structures can be substantially free of entrained overspray. See as examples U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,293 to Halls and 4,222,319 to Donohue, both of which show wet scrubbers in downdraft type spray booths.
Whereas this prior art system is generally satisfactory in removing overspray from the air, the air leaving the lower ends of the outlet structures continues to carry considerable water into and along the length of the exhaust system.